Conventionally, with popularization of a smartphone, a tablet-type terminal, etc., it has become popular that one person possesses a plurality of information devices. Because these devices have many duplex functions and differ in their screen size and portability, there is a demand for achieving work linkage with a device suitable for each scene of use. For example, there may be a scene of use in which a person uses a personal computer (PC) at home and the same person works on an information device such as a smartphone, a tablet-type terminal, etc., when commuting or going out.
Additionally, in order to achieve a work linkage, it is necessary to achieve a data linkage and a linkage of work environments (for example, applications (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as the “app”). The data linkage can be materialized by using a cloud storage (for example, Dropbox (Registered Trademark), Evernote (Registered Trademark), etc.) or copying data by previously connecting the devices to each other by a cable or the like.
Moreover, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. H05-108439 discloses a technique to link a startup program as attribute information to a file to store the attribute information in a file attribute table. Additionally, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-196134 discloses a technique according to which an image can be freely changed in a reduction display on an explorer and a client is notified of a corresponding operation by sending an image ID to a server side. Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-132440 discloses a technique in which a database part is provided with, when referring to a file, a history and a write destination (terminal classification) as a file attribute in order to manage a group of files used in a computer aided design (CAD) or the like. Additionally, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-49929 discloses a technique to associate not only an extension provided to a file but also a directory with an application to activate a specific application for each directory.
However, it is difficult for the above-mentioned conventional techniques to process data by an appropriate application with respect to a work linkage between different devices when, for example, there are a plurality of candidates for an application of a linking destination that is usable with respect to certain data. Thus, it is difficult to appropriately achieve a linkage of work environments.